Jed Hoyer and the Cubs are heading into a pivotal offseason. After 4 straight years without a trip to the playoffs, Hoyer and Co. are looking to build a roster that can get the franchise back into October. As they work to enhance this group, we are analyzing the Top 10 building blocks already on the Cubs roster. Next up: Seiya Suzuki.

There’s a reasonable case to be made that Seiya Suzuki should be No. 1 on this list.

After all, he’s the most talented hitter on this roster and might be the only player capable of putting up a truly elite offensive season.

Over the last 2 seasons, Suzuki ranks 19th among all qualified MLB hitters in wRC+ (133) — ahead of players like José Ramírez, Francisco Lindor and Rafael Devers.

But Suzuki also has the lowest WAR (6.7) out of any player in the Top 20 on that list over the last 2 years because he has struggled to stay healthy and doesn’t add much value defensively.

Suzuki was relegated to full-time DH duties in the last couple months of 2024 as Pete Crow-Armstrong roamed center field and Cody Bellinger was shifted to right.

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When he has been in the field, Suzuki has made some highlight-reel plays but he has also had some egregious miscues in big spots.

He has missed 105 games over the last 3 seasons due to injury, spending significant time on the IL in each year since he signed with the Cubs prior to 2022.

Suzuki has also struggled to put together consistency at the plate, likely in large part due to the injuries. He has had some particularly hot stretches that could last for 2 months at a time but he has not compiled that one full year of wire-to-wire production.

Case in point: When the Cubs acquired Jeimer Candelario at the trade deadline in 2023, it was Suzuki who was actually moved to the bench to make room for Candelario in the lineup against right-handed pitchers because of prolonged struggles (.212 AVG, .578 OPS in June-July 2023).

After a week-and-a-half, Suzuki was moved back into the lineup and absolutely raked to the tune of a .350/.406/.667 slash line (1.073 OPS) over the final 2 months of 2023.

Suzuki was able to find a bit more consistency in 2024 but he also saw a precipitous rise in strikeout rate (up from 22.3% in 2023 to 27.4% in 2024).

And at the end of the day, he finished with 21 homers, 73 RBI and 74 runs scored – a stat line not normally associated with a “star” label in nearly 600 plate appearances.

“[Slugging] is certainly something that was lacking this year,” Jed Hoyer said in his end-of-season presser. “No one was hitting 30 homers and we didn’t have any 1 player slugging at a really high level.

“Seiya ended up Top 10 in the National League in OPS, Top 20 in baseball. … I think sometimes we have to adjust numbers in our head. He was a Top 10 guy in OPS in our league. I don’t think we think about it that way because the numbers aren’t .975 – it’s more of an .860, .850 OPS.”

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Suzuki just turned 30 in August and is under team control for 2 more seasons (through 2026). He should be hitting in the middle of the lineup for the Cubs next season and if he is able to fully realize his tantalizing potential, he could be the team’s most valuable player in 2025.

The questions still remain – can he stay healthy? Can he find year-long consistency? Will he play outfield again or stick as the full-time DH?

It’s those questions that have moved Suzuki down a few spots in this list but he remains an extremely important player on this roster.

Top 10 Cubs building blocks

1. Pete Crow-Armstrong
2. Justin Steele
3. Shota Imanaga
4. Dansby Swanson
5. Oct. 25
6. Oct. 28
7. Oct. 29
8. Oct. 30
9. Oct. 31
10. Nov. 1
Honorable mentions: Nov. 4